Side by Side Comparison of: Mudder vs Weller

Very precise. I've tried soldering electronics in the past with non-temp-controlled irons and they are impossible to use without burning up components. I had a critical job to do and so I bought this. Not disappointed at all. Some people complained about a problem with the dial moving while you use it, but I didn't have an issue with that. Just be careful you don't bump it once it's set. If you've got a ton of joints to make with one setting, tape it.

Great product especially because of the variable temp control which most low cost soldering irons do not have. Also the extra 5 tips work well for various soldering needs. Fast shipping and easy packaging. Mudder 60W 110V Adjustable Temperature Welding Soldering Iron with Five Pieces Different Tips for Variously Repaired Usage

Hearts up quickly, withe temp control. Congress with a couple different tips.My other iron didn't get hot enough to melt solder, I think it was 35watt.this one does the job, and quickly! Just be careful not to set the temp too high b/c you will melt plastic and burn other things that the metal/wire your soldering to is touching, stay safe! It's easy to get burned and/or start a fire.you'd be surprised how fast some things get hot, and then you drop it, and then it burns things.... lolJust keep that in mind, consider using a holder/supports

I am a technician by trade, and have always used Weller soldering irons and stands, but I don't really need professional quality at home. I purchased this as it was one of the few that had temperature regulation WITHOUT the big display/stand. It works well, and I found after some trial and error with the solder that running it cooler than I am used to provided a very nice solder flow. As others have said - the temp adjustment is on the handle and easy to bump... just hold it so your fingers are not in the line of it and no more issues.

Compared to the other versions at similar price, this soldering iron allows for adjustable temperatures from 200C to 400C. It also has interchangeable heads for a variety of uses. I personally purchased this soldering iron to melt through plastic to create hamster cages. The iron would heat up very quickly (around 1 minute) and could be used for ~10 minutes before you could feel some heat radiating through the handle. At this point, I did not want to risk damaging the great product so I let it cool for 5 minutes. I repeated this process 4 times before finishing melting everything I needed to. I'm not sure if I needed to wait to let it cool but no need to risk damaging a new tool!

This is a high quality soldering iron for a good price. 60 Watts provides plenty of power and the temperature dial allows you to precisely control the heat. There is a "pre-heated" light inside the handle that glows red when the iron is heated to your desired temperature. The handle has a high quality rubbery grip material that feels nice in the hand. The package comes with 5 different tips that are quick and easy to swap out. Great value! 5 Stars.

Three very important aspects about this station that spell SAFETY are:1st..... The power buttom on the station itself is very convenient and makes you alert of it being on or off.2nd.... Power control knob that helps you control the amount of wattage/heat on the soldering tip.3rd..... The holder for the soldering tip is right there next to you.This is a very good setup for anyone who does quite a bit of soldering like me. Highly recommended.

I love things that are well made and work the way they should. This soldering iron station has enough of a range to do a lot of the things that I use a soldering iron for. My only recommendation is to buy a pencil tip at the same time you buy this soldering station. The tip it comes with is broad and not as easy to use in tight spaces as a pencil tip.

I use it from time to time as a light duty DIY dude, and it's leaps and bounds ahead of the craptastic radioshanty version I had before. The tip flows solder really well and cleans up really well. Temp control is great and the stand is great as well. Totally happy with my purchase!

This is my second soldering iron and the first soldering station. The first time I tried to save money and bought a $10 soldering gun without temperature settings or a holding station. How wrong I was about trying to save money on a soldering iron. First, you definitely need to have a temperature setting so that you can fine tune it to your application. e.g. Thicker wires require a hotter iron. Also, a big plug is the iron holder. I tried to use the one that came with the $10 iron, which was basically just a metal place with a cut out for a stand. Those things don't stay in place and caused me to burn my fingers more than several times. Before I purchased this guy I also found another one for about $10 less than this one with similar features, however, after looking into it and having used this iron now for a few weeks I say this is definitely worth the month. I also got a Solder Tip cleaning with a brass wool and a tip tinner to complete my setup. So if you're looking to get into soldering and want something that will last more than one use get this!

I use this soldering iron as a hobbyist to solder electronics for use with my Raspberry Pi and Arduino projects. I have found an adjustable-power soldering iron to be a must-have for this type of work. This unit performs well; the provided tip makes surprisingly short work of even some of the more cramped joints I've had to make; and the option to utilize other Weller tips has been helpful.

Intro:This is a really good mid-price range soldering iron that would be very satisfactory for the typical electronics hobbyist, maker, tinkerer, or DIY repairs enthusiast. Please note that this is a *soldering station*, not just a soldering iron, so it is superior to if you are just purchasing a *soldering iron*, which is just the "plug in pencil" part by itself. Weller is a professional grade soldering equipment company, they make soldering equipment that is even more superior to this one, so you can expect fairly high quality out of this soldering station as well.Advantages and features:-Really nice holder for the iron, reducing the chances of knocking it over or off the table during use (safer than cheaper soldering irons).-Nice comfort grip on the iron-You can buy high quality Weller tips to fit this iron of a wide range of shapes/sizes for different soldering jobs-On/off switch so you don't have to unplug it to shut it off. Switch glows when on, to remind you that it's on (good for safety).-The iron plugs into a socket on the station, so you could replace just the iron if it breaks/burns out/gets worn out, probably even with a non-Weller iron.-A nice sponge is included-Station has a nice tray for the sponge-Station has variable heat output with continuous adjustment knob (way better than having just an iron that doesn't have temperature adjustment)-Seems to have plenty of power for doing circuit board electronics soldering. I typically use the 3 or 4 setting, unless I'm soldering big stuff, and then I crank it up to 5, which is the max.Disadvantages to keep in mind, and why they aren't a huge deal:-Though you can adjust heat output, you can't control the temperature directly, and the probe doesn't actively increase/decrease its heat output to hold at constant temperature as you are working with it. But you would have to pay significantly more money to get this feature in a high quality soldering iron like this one.-The soldering iron tip that this iron comes with is a huge chisel tip, and will not be useful to most people who plan on soldering electronics with this iron. You can easily order replacement tips though that are more dart-like, and you'll have to do this as tips wear out anyways.Pro tips:Soldering iron tips are somewhat expensive (about $10 each), because they are one metal plated with another metal. Treat them with respect. Shut the iron off when not in use to reduce high temperature corrosion. Put some solder on the tip before shutting it off to protect it. Use the sponge and/or tip cleaner to keep the tip clean. Avoid the temptation to clean a tip with sandpaper, this will ruin it, because that removes the plating. If your tip starts not working very well, slap in a new one, and tell yourself that it's worth it. Try not to solder onto dirty metals and things not intended to be soldered.Summary/Final Buying Advice:If you are a hobbyist accustomed to using stand-alone soldering irons that have no station, or a cheap station that is just a sponge and a holder, and no switch and knob, treat yourself to this station, and you'll be very pleased. Things will go a lot better for you, you'll be more productive, less frustrated, and this station might even be safer for you to use, since with the stand-alone iron, you can easily knock it over onto your table or floor, and that's not good. This is almost a professional quality station, you can handle the price that it costs, so get it for yourself!!If you are a professional electronics technician, a very ambitious hobbyist, or have a larger budget than I do, you will probably want a temperature controlled iron/station. Expect to pay over double for it if it is of good Weller or comparable quality though. Its key advantage is that it will increase/decrease its heat output to hold a constant temperature as you are doing things with it that suck more and less heat off of it.

This is great. Very hot, melts all kinds of solder that I've encountered. Comfortable handle and adjustable temperature means very flexible operations. I recommend using with a soldering iron stand, as the cord is stiff/thick and can cause the iron to roll around and set things alight.

Works great for soldering and desoldering, If you turn it to the "200 degrees' Which is the lowest settings, it will shut off after a few minutes, so that's great for leaving it plugged in for short periods of time.Make sure you keep solder on the tip at all times though, Otherwise it can ruin the tip.Works awesome, Heats up in seconds. and gets the job done.

Gotta love this soldering iron. It includes in one reasonably-priced unit the features that would usually only come in a soldering station: pen, temperature dial, extra tips. Only dislike: no on/off switch, so it has to be plugged / unplugged each time. One could overcome this with a switching box and it would be great. Surprisingly doesn't come with a pen rest. Bend a piece of hangar wire; it'll work fine.Surprisingly, at heats between 350 and 450 it works as a rather good woodburning pen as well-- an unexpected bonus.

Here's the truth. I have bought 2 of these now. No they are not Pro grade, and No they are not crap. The are temperature adjustable and they can get very hot.The handle and tip are virtually identical to my Hakko 998 but the plastic is not as nice, these are rather brittle. The tips are not too bad and are interchangeable with the Hakko tips but do seem to corrode faster than the Hakko. If you tin the tip when you are finished they should last a reasonable long time.The heating element and tip retainer is virtually identical to that of the Hakko. as an experiment, I left one plugged in and set to max temperature for 24hours in the $5 addon iron holder Amazon sells. after that the blue plastic handle where the tip retainer screws on was nice and hot, the plastic had softened a bit and the whole tip assembly could be flexed. After the thing cooled down the plastic seemed to have wept some yellowish goo and the thread on the blue plastic handle we messed up. The unit still holds together and functions just file nut I would recommend doing that often.If you are looking for a cheep, hot soldering iron for intermittent duty, I would recommend this one.

It is a good soldering iron so far. The various included tips are nice to have for different jobs. The adjustable temperature is also a nice feature. There is one thing you need to be aware of though. A previous reviewing stated that the soldering iron started melting after use. You need to be sure everything is screwed down tightly before use. There is a plastic screw on cap just below where the tip screws in place. If this plastic cap is not screwed down all the way, it will start to melt.

Great price and the extra tips really seals the deal! Temperature control ... well not exactly ... the dial adjusts the power starting at the lowest setting draws about 24 watts once warm draws around 13 watts and will melt solder even though the dial says 200C. The LED in the handle also glows brighter as the dial is adjusted higher but stays on constantly. The black rubber end of the handle starts getting very warm on the lowest heat setting after half an hour and I recommend a holder that points the tip upwards instead of downwards to reduce the handle heating. I have another real temperature controlled iron that can go as low at 200F and its LED cycles on and off once it reaches the set temperature. This one definitely does not work like that but it does the job and the tips are compatible with other irons which is a plus! The next test is soldering some heavier wires to connectors and I hope it can generate enough heat to do that. So far I am pleased with its performance!

It's a pretty good backup or beginners station. They only put one screw in to hold the base together instead of the two it was designed for, and the knob is out of alignment right out of the box. I straightened the knob up and it works pretty well. 3-3.5 feels like around 300-350C-ish. Temperature recovery is adequate, but nothing like a temperature controlled iron. If I had paid $100 for it I would be disappointed, but for under $50 it's a killing machine.

I purchased this for my son who is an engineering student. I've used a variety of soldering irons over the years from super cheap ones from Radio Shack, to professional Metcal soldering stations. Obviously, this is not Metcal quality, but for the price it does a very nice job. The fact that you can modulate the temperature is great. It was a bit harder than normal to properly tin the tip, but other than that, it has done well.

I am using this to solder guitar electronics. Have used on 2 guitars with great results. Tip can turn quickly so keep clean and tinned in order to reduce oxidation. It seems consistent heat wise and is a great improvement over cheap pencil type I was using. Again, I use this as a hobbyist, so not sure durability for day-to-day extended use. Would recommend for hobbyist that wants a quality unit with some control. Cord does seem to get in the way at times and can be irritating so just make sure to set it up so it stays out of the way.

For a super novice solderer, such as I, I found it pretty great. It beat this super cheapo soldering iron I bought at a discount store. After my first experience with my cheapo soldering iron, I was very doubtful I'd be able to pull off a 3.5mm repair plug job, but I was able to do it with this soldering iron! It melted just enough around what I was soldering without leaving a goopy mess. Going by my experiences, for basic regular sized jobs, perhaps even older automotive/motorcycle electrical, I bet this thing can pull it off. I know that's what I'll probably end up using it for in the future. If a more constant/even temp is required, or a more hardcore job, then I'd probably buy a bit more expensive iron with more features, but for a newbie like me this station is a good start.

I got this to start out soldering on my guitar. I didn't want to get a cheap iron, and didn't want to spent $100 bucks on something i really didn't need. So at $40 this guy was the choice, and the reviews were good for most Weller products, so i gave it a shot. Some things about this guy seems a little cheap though when it arrived, like the plastic construction seems a little cheap, but not flimsy so it's not too bad, as long as you don't rough it around too much. The iron holder ( the spiral metal thing) can be a little tedious, and i worry about it falling since it's just sorta resting in a groove in the plastic. But i haven't had an issue so it should be ok in the future. I was a little confused by the sponge that came with it since it's completely flat. "Really?" i thought. But it expands perfectly and sits nice and snug in the little sponge holder.As for soldering, everything went great. It takes a little bit to warm up (i'm really impatient so probably only about 5 minutes depending on the temperature). It comes with a small chisel tip which is great for beginning, since you can easily get a good amount of solder on the tip and not worry about missing what you're trying to solder. The little heat adjustment knob is a great feature to have as well. I used it on 4 (out of 5) and was able to get sufficient heat to heat up a potentiometer plenty. It's also great for when you let the iron sit for a bit, since you can turn it down to about 2, and then crank it back up to whatever you were using before and not have to wait as long for it to heat up.This is a great choice for a beginner's iron if you're willing to spend the extra money. It's well worth the investment!

I bought one of these 5 years ago. It feels pretty cheap, but for what it is, it works well. I switch between the original tip and a thinner one depending on what needs to be done. I've done some surface-mount type soldering with this and so far haven't had issues I can attribute to the iron itself. I have not had any (noticeable) damage due to the non-ESD safe, ungrounded tip.However, I wish I had saved the $40 or so I spent on it and put that towards a temperature-controlled unit. I would advise the same for anyone thinking of buying this for PCB work. For this kind of soldering this feels like an unnecessary intermediate between a cheap soldering pencil and a temperature-controlled station.These days there are good offerings from reputable companies (including Weller itself) that cost less than $100 and offer a grounded (ESD-safe) and temperature-controlled tip. While this WLC100 lets you lower the temperature with the dial, it only dials down the power delivered to the tip. It does not keep the tip at a constant temperature.

The first one i got stopped working on the same day. The seller was kind enough to send me another one, which worked fine for a couple months then it also failed. It gets hot, very very hot, very fast. Was really happy with it until it broke. It works great, but sad to say it seems as though it has a very high failure rate.

Absolutely loved this soldering iron until one day when I accidently left it turned to high heat (350-400 degrees) and found the handle section melted where it connects to the element section. If you are aware of this and remember to use high heat only briefly and always to turn the temperature down, you will be happy with this purchase.

Works great for electronic or stain glass soldering. The temperature is turned up and down by a cheap dial and it is in spot where I hit it with my finger or thumb and constantly turn it up or down. It also shuts off after about 10 min, that could just be a safety feature though.

Used a "Kill-A-Watt" device to measure actual wattage usage at various "temperature" settings with the tip exposed to 70F room temperature. Lowest setting (200C) initially consumes 18W and then stabilizes to 12W after about a minute. Max setting (450C) draws no more than 30W continuously even with the tip immersed in water.I do not have a temperature probe to measure actual tip temperature, but I seriously doubt that this device has a temperature feedback to control tip temperature.The iron does work and the various tips sizes/shapes are very useful, but it doesn't put out the advertised 60W of heat, only 30W. In soldering it is more important to view soldering as a thermal mass problem; how much heat energy is required to raise the temperature of the material(s) to be soldered to the solder melting point and how the size, shape, and condition of the tip and the part(s) it comes in contact with affects the thermal transfer rate of tip to material. This is why is takes a while to learn the "feel" for any soldering iron.Iron is still a good value for what it does, provided it lasts.

Heats up quick, easy to hold, but the cord is really stiff (cheap) and the wattage adjustment knob is in a bad spot and can be easily turned....and by easily I mean as you hold the handle your hand will brush the knob and before you know it the wattage is a max.

Reason I'm giving this a 3 star is because if you set it to the highest which is over more than it says on the description being 824 degrees, it will melt and turn to a different direction. Also you won't be able to take out the tip's which is pretty much pointless having the tips that come with it. But I still use it cause it gets the job done to solder what you need. So to go easy on the iron just set to the mid dial not max heat.

If you are cheap and need a soldering iron for occasional use, this will work fine. It is not a quality piece of equipment. If I could go back and do it again, I would drop the extra money to get a quality piece of equipment. If you are looking for a piece of machinery that will perform, bump up your budget $30 and look again.

Unfortunately I was surprised to find out that the knob isn't a temperature control but simply adjusts power. This means that it can get way too hot when you put it down and yet doesn't recover the temperature quickly when you need to make several joints in quick succession.

1. Mine arrived with a missing screw in the base (1 of the 2). Hecho in Mexico. Will add pix.2. Takes forever to heat up-minutes.. I must be used to my 30 year old Weller TC202/TC201 WTCPN heating up in about 15-30 seconds.3. Ships with a smaller chisel tip. Reordered a conical for small work.

Design good for analogue. I have ownd similar one 20 years ago and it was less known brand still as reliable as Weller (still works, but when you have two locations you do do need two of them instead of traveling with station for hobbies).The only problem I have is that it was used. Do your really think I cannot recognize that tip was used and it is smeared in solder and resin? No it does not have in this from factory. Someone was already soldering with it and it should not be restocked with used tip. I could also see that box was resealed with some popular scotch tape an box was slighly torn from opening. I do not mind having lightly used soldering station (as long as it works), but then do not sell it as new. It is not right to advertise used equipment as new. Since I needed sharp tips for electronics I oredered two of them and replaced original (used) one anyway. Not big deal here, but just sales people integrity issue.I measure temparature of tip with laser gauge and it is sufficeint to melt electronic solder, but we will see how reliable the station is soon.

I only solder things here and there, so I haven't used it a ton yet, but it's been alright for what I've used it for so far. The tip is worthless. I read all the instructions about caring for the tip, and I followed them, but I can't get anything hot with it. Solder beads off and doesn't stick. I plan to get a new tip, and when I do, I'll probably be very happy with it for my hobby purposes.

The units heating and tips have stood up well. I had issue with the set screw that hold tips in barrel. Went 180 degrees and drill and taped a 6-32 set screw in. The barresl original 4-40 or what ever size it was does not have enough material to take many tip changes before it stripped out.The side plug-in for iron always seems on wrong side of bench, but that just my issue Low end power adjustment seems low to proportion of pot adjust. Handles nice, & wide selection of tips.Up date: purchased 2/2012, heater element failed 1-17-2016, moderate hobby use.

To be fair, I'm learning and should probably have been more careful with the temp settings. This might have been operator error. I was able to solder the parts I was working on and the circuit worked. But the iron got too hot and part of the handle melted. That doesn't seem right, so bought a 25 watt Weller standard duty iron. I'll see how that works.

It works ok at the lowest temperature setting. However, when set at the max temp setting, the plastic handle became very hot to the point that I could not hold it. Once, I left it in a holder (at high temp setting) unused for 5 or more minutes, the handle became soft; then the soldering iron was deformed, the handle was separated from the metalic heating element at their joint. I let it cool down and screwed the heating element back on. It continued to work afterward. I plan to take its guts and transplant it to another iron which has high quality plastic handle. The soldering tip seems to hold well, not easily pitted or worn.

dam i wish i knew more about this before i bought it. took me forever to figure out how to change the tips and i almost broke it doing so why because this place assumes we the customers were part of making this thing so we know everything about it already no need for directions.then there is that dam dial made for a barbie doll if you up there like me good luck trying to read the dam thing i just guessed by the light when it went bright i was on high dimmed low exactly knowing what temp i am on i don't know i even had trouble seeing it with 140 power reading glasses. but it did burn good solder went on great you just need to get an extension cord or do like me and make it longer and it does not come witha cooling stand i had to use my old one.

worked good for a while, but one day i plugged it in and turned up the temp to max and something inside it blew up and it stopped working.

Worked great for soldering but after about an hour or so of use (not on High either) I noticed the base of the iron was really hot. When putting even slight pressure on the handle to use the iron the metal part of the soldering iron started to move (as in the plastic base started to get too hot and melt) and I was afraid to use it anymore as it could burn me or become disconnected from the base. I was hoping for a decent soldering iron for cheap that you can adjust the temperature but it doesn't seem like there will be one out there that can handle the temperature.When I first purchased this it arrived broken (no temperature dial) and I had to purchase another one which was very disappointing as I had set aside time to do my project the day it arrived. Shipping speed was amazing though, I got one the next day.If this could just handle the heat it can output then it would be a GREAT product.

It seems very nice, but the needlepoint tip didn't fit and that was very disappointing because that was the one I needed most for some through-hole soldering. It is shorter than the others and therefore it won't allow it to screw back together.

It's a little bit low on power, and its super hard to find replacement tips for it. It's an ok starter iron I guess, but I ended up buying a little bit higher quality Weller instead, I think even for hobbiests you're better off spending 25-50% more and getting a real high quality iron.

I've been using Weller products for years, and they have finally convinced me that they do not make any "professional grade" soldering equipment. This so-called "station" lasted me about 6 months, used it maybe a dozen times, and now it won't melt solder on any setting. Save your money on this one, do your research, buy something decent even if it costs a few bucks more..

It works, but the quality control is awful. It's supposed to have two screws on the base of the unit, there is one...really? It was that hard to overlook one of two screws? I understand it's a budget soldering iron, but come on.It takes a few minutes to heat up enough to melt light duty rosin core 60/40 solder, but once it heats up it worked fine. The cord for the base unit is very short, less than 48"...the cord on the iron itself is plenty long, much longer than the base cord.All in all, I'm disappointed in the product. But it is true I guess, you get what you pay for...I just expected more from Weller. Oh, when I went to register it, I couldn't...the unit doesn't have a serial number.:/ So I'll expect no love from Weller WHEN it breaks. It's cheap and made in Mexico, I'd seriously look for a higher end unit if you can.

Not sure if 2 stars are fair. I used it only once for 10 minutes and it worked as advertised. But will now no longer heat up a week later. Seemed to be the handle and not the electronics since it is still cold when plugged in directly. Past 30 day return and I don't have the time to have it repaired at this price point (and pay for shipping) So I'm out the full $$ on this one.

Beware: this is NOT temperature controlled. It is basically a 40W soldering iron powered through a dimmer circuit.

I ended up returning this. Very poor design. The wire on the wand is just lampcord, made of simple rubber and is rigid, so it gets in the way and easily gets tangled with the work you're doing - and its inflexibility can "steer" the soldering iron, which matters with delicate work. The wire is also too long and not heat-resistant, and it plugs into side of base with a bulky 110V AC plug. Some may like that feature as they may think it makes the wand portable to use w/o the base, but as far as I'm concerned I bought the base / wand combo for its precise heat, why would I want to split that up and get full heat? Also to hold the soldering tip there's a set screw (as opposed to a threaded compression fitting) - so the screw sticks out from the iron at the base of the tip, and the iron is constantly getting hung up on the wireframe coiled holder via that screw when drawn out of the base, dragging the station an inch or two towards me. Frustrating. I owned a more "pro" Weller station previously (got lost in a move), and simple things from that design would be nice in this unit - shorter, heat-resistant wire & more flexible wire, and nix the set screw. Sure they value-engineer lower cost soldering stations for a reason, but some design issues can't be THAT costly to implement (the screw for example, or wire length). Oh my what a rant, it's just a soldering iron. Good luck!

While it works well at first, the durability of this soldering iron is awful. This unit is re-branded all over amazon and they consistently break where the 2 pieces screw together at. I've owned 2 and the first on I had literally broken in half but I decided to get it a second chance since it lasted 3 months and worked well during that time. The second one last 2 weeks before it begin to thread itself... terrible durability.Another issue is that the temperature knob moves so easily you will consistently move it while using it without knowing until you start to notice bad solder joints. While this iron is cheap and can get the job done, its really a poor quality iron.

After about 15 minutes of use, at about 275 setting,while hanging over the edge of my work bench where I was resting it between uses the complete end melted off, fell on a rubber mat on my floor and caught it on fire.I have used and owned in my career as an avionics tech probably 30 different soldering irons. And the first 12or so minutes with this one was great. But with all the irons I have owned ($3.00 one to a $300.00 soldering station) I have never had one melt in half!This iron is dangerous and should be pulled off the market

Within 15 minutes of first time I used the Mudder Soldering Iron the HOT metal end melted out of the plastic handle and fell on a brand new Vinyl floor TWO (2) days old and of course burned a large spot in the Vinyl before I could get something to pick up the hot soldering tip and holder.The soldering Iron came with the temp dial set at its lowest setting and I had not changed it.This purchase has been a very costly error on my part.Carl John

DOA obviously tells you that the product isn't tested prior to shipping. I contacted the seller to see if there may be a simple solution and all I got was a blanket answer.

FIRE HAZARD!!!!!DO NOT BUY!!!!!!Metal retainer that holds tip and heating element is pressed directly into plastic, if used for more than 20 minutes at a time the handle will melt and the element will fall out!!!!!! seriously, this thing is a danger!!!!!

The first time I used it, it melted! Only an hour and a half at around 300 degrees and this thing is trash! Do not buy this product!

Wanted a "soldering" iron, instead I got a "suffering" iron. This thing works no better than an old $3.00 radio shack model. Also the tips are expensive.Hakko FX888D costs more, but it's the thing you want.

Worked for one day, then died. Quality leaves a lot to be desired. The plug on the side of the base unit pulls out almost completely when removing the soldering iron. This is not the same quality as the light-blue products from 30 years ago. Returning defective unit.

Since this was the #1 in category, I bought it. Oops, wish I hadn't. Soldered maybe 50 small wires and components with it in maybe 3 sessions and the unit is just maddening. Seems it either cooks the hell out of solder and wire insulation or it's not hot enough to melt anything. It's like someone switches a light switch on and off while trying to use it. I've played with the control and it doesn't really help much.The other disappointment - since day one, the tip has been dark gray and rough. Never been able to get it clean. I've tried a few different solders with it.

worked for about 5 hours now it's back to the old radio shack solder gun what a waste of money and I Thought Weller WAS a good product

It has taken me two hours to get two beads. It doesn't want to heat the solder.

Pile of junk. Used half a dozen times and now it either doesn't heat above 100 degrees on 3 or below and a smidge above 3 gets you the max temp causing solder to bead and run off the components you try to bring together. Frustration and waste of money. Well er is not on my list of accepted soldering irons.